Held annually in Puebla, Mexico, La Ciudad de las Ideas (CDI) is an “International Brilliant Minds Festival”, unique in its genre and created by the polymath Dr. Andrés Roemer, whose purpose is to empower citizens and present the most provocative and innovative iideas in science, technology, art, design, politics, education, culture, business, entertainment and other areas of knowledge.

Alphachimp joined hundreds of participants gathered at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Harvey Theater on June 24 for PopTech's 'The City Resilient,' a day-long exploration of the diffuse and increasing threats to cities and communities around the world.

This the next evolution of putting her doodling passion into practice in new ways.

Discovery Doodles is a company designed to serve not only businesses and innovators with strategic conferences, brainstorming sessions and product ideation, but to extend this practice into homes and schools.

Discovery Doodles allows us to take what we have learned in the global business world and share it with parents, teachers and most importantly, kids!

Aging is a disruptive force in many countries and economies. However, global aging is not simply a story of ‘more.’ The new disruptive demographics of aging is not your grandfather's old age.

In 1900, life expectancy for much of the industrialized world was under 50. Today, living well into one's 70s, 80s and beyond can be expected. How will we spend and make the most of our 30-year longevity bonus?

These new demographics require a radical new view of the changing definition of "old age" and the impact upon society, business strategy and innovation.

The STEM Think Tank and Conference that occurred last week at Harpeth Hall School is one of my favorite events in Nashville. It's so exciting to see the brainpower that gathers with a passion for promoting education for girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.) For the last two years, I've walked away from the conference with a restored faith in the potential for education, a reverence for the committment on the part of teachers to education for girls, and a sense of awe about the creative tools these educators are using to take STEM education for girls to the next level.

In a world fraught with disruptions, what causes some systems, organizations, communities and people to break down and others to bounce back? For those that rebound, what do they tell us about how to build a secure future, and sturdier selves to inhabit it?

The Harpa Concert Hall & Conference Centre in Reykjavik, site of PopTech

To explore these pressing questions, in June 2012 PopTech convened its first international conference outside its homebase in Camden, Maine. Over 200 researchers, practitioners and thought leaders—working in fields such as international development, global business, climate adaptation, social psychology, economics, systems ecology, public health, emerging technology, disaster relief and community activism—gathered in the world-reknowned Harpa concert hall in Reykjavik for a dialogue about the emerging field of "resilience".

The team at Alphachimp get to travel the world in our capacity as doodlers, and meet amazing people who work on compelling and important projects. It's so heartening to see those people receive the accolades they deserve. This week, our friend and collaborator, Megan Mukuria, founder of the amazing Kenyan non-profit ZanaAfrica, is featured in Fast Company magazine as a member of the League of Extraodinary Women.

“Every change agent needs an agency. We've chosen 60 notable members of theLeague of Extraordinary Womenand the organizations, both for-profit and not-for-profit, that are their vehicle to tackle areas of dire need, such as developing the next generation of female entrepreneurs…

This interconnected group of executives, philanthropists, entrepreneurs, artists, government officials, and academics is formulating groundbreaking initiatives and hacking long-outdated aid models by tapping new thinking and a growing data set that suggests that investing in girls and women will create measurable economic benefits for all.

The Flame Challenge, launched with help from Alan Alda, dared scientists and educators to submit videos explaining what a flame is—a subtle concept touching on many subfields of physics and chemistry. What set this contest apart from other science communication contests is that the judges were roughly 6000 11-year old students at 130 schools. Members of the Fabulab earned an Honorable Mention in the challenge, and it’s our favorite video this week.

Perrin Ireland graphically records Creativity Moves Nashville; Credit: Matthew Freise, NossiAlphachimps love the lure of the open road- we’ll willingly pack our markers and paper, load up the old roller luggage, and travel around the world to graphically capture an event.

But the events we attend at home, here in Nashville, are a sweet relief. What could be better than going to an action-packed event full of inspiring speakers who all live within a stones throw of us, and then getting home in time for dinner?

Needless to say we were thrilled to be invited to scribe a recent local event, Creativity Moves Nashville. Organized byJacob Weiss, this half-day conference, held on May 24th, was devoted to connecting artists with causes and entrepreneurs.

Weiss exemplifies a compelling method for artists to lead creative lives full of meaning and success. The solution is simple: make your art relevant, and purposeful, by connecting with a nonprofit or an entrepreneur with a cause, and create impact in your community.

ABOVE: Diane Durand, Managing Director of Alphachimp Studio Inc. scribes for Josh ClarkParamore, the Digital Agency, presents bi-annual Paramore University events where friends of the agency learn from brilliant digital thinkers and doers about how to improve their digital marketing. In typical Paramore style, the events are fun, entertaining, informative, and savvy.

The public is invited to a 24-hour grand opening celebration from 5 p.m. on Friday, April 20 through 5 p.m. on Saturday, April 21, 2012. This is the largest street party for Raleigh, North Carolina, expected to draw 50,000 nature-loving participants.

The NRC currently under construction, will bring research scientists and their work into the public eye, help demystify an often intimidating field of study, better prepare science educators and students, and inspire a new generation of young scientists.

The cornerstone of the NRC will be the SECU Daily Planet, an immersive, three-story multimedia space that will host live programming on current science issues and feature nature films on a giant screen. Other highlights include a 10,000-gallon aquarium with lionfish, bonnethead sharks and Atlantic stingrays, and Investigate Labs, where visitors can perform scientific experiments designed and led by Museum researchers and educators.

TEDMED can be described as the Baby Doc spinoff of the TED Mothership.

Or, it can be summed up as a glimpse into why the human race is doomed and how we screwed everything up through ignorance, gluttony, greed, avarice and the three other deadly sins, and that only a radical change in personal and communal decisions will save us.

(It seems like between the body's natural frailty, Pandora's Box, evolutionary biology, a $15,000,000,000 deficit and malpractice lawyers... we have our collective work cut out for us!)

Over 1,200 delegates gathered at TEDMED 2012 from all around the globe and virtually every profession from the Director of the NIH to the world’s foremost big wave surfer. For almost 90 presentations and performances, comprising 11 sessions, over 3 days we created digital scribing assets available on Flickr, YouTube, the TEDMED blog, and in PDF summaries.

Alphachimp loves the musical stylins of Jill Sobule. Whether musing about the death penalty, anorexia, or what it would be like if Edgar Allen Poe had taken Prozac, she delights and challenges in her sly, funny way.

Check out our electronic scribing of her presentations at #TEDMED so far, in addition to the other incredible speakers we've gotten to see. If you missed her, don't worry- she's peppered all over the schedule, so we'll be hearing lots more about how "Disease Don't Care!"

This year's theme was Impact: Making a Difference. The amazing list of confirmed speakers will be sharing on everything from changing your brain without surgery to communicating with extraterrestrials, child literacy, and unlocking your creativity with paint. Southern Word, Nashville's crew of compelling high school spoken word poets, will be making an appearance, no doubt to bring the audience to their feet once more.

Alphachimp Studio's co-founder and creative director, Peter Durand, was working stage left to capture visual summaries of each exciting speaker. The event was once again emceed by Ross Scott, who did a fine job keeping pace and "keeping it real".

There were many special moments during the day, but a special one was created (literally and in real-time) during a first-tem collaboration by musician K.S. Rhoads and painter Rachel Kice.